JP5850483B2 - Card storage cassette for information recording device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a card storage cassette such as a plastic card or a cardboard card, and has a card storage structure capable of easily mounting and removing a large number of cards on an information recording apparatus for recording printing, images, magnetic information, and IC information. Regarding improvement.

  In general, as an information recording apparatus for recording information on a card, various recording apparatuses such as a card printer, a magnetic recording apparatus, and an IC recording apparatus are known. These apparatuses are provided with a card supply unit, and record the cards stored in the storage stacker one by one.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an apparatus that feeds one card at a time from a card supply stacker into the apparatus and prints image data on the front and back surfaces of the card. The card supply unit is provided with a hopper, and a plurality of cards are stacked and stored in the hopper. Such a hopper device for stacking and storing cards up and down is widely known in card handling devices. Then, as disclosed in the same document, cards stacked in a stacked manner are processed one by one from the bottom layer in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the stacking direction.

  In such a card storage method, when the storage capacity is increased, the hopper portion becomes large in the vertical direction, whereas the recording portion is arranged in the horizontal direction. This layout is based on the relationship that cards are stacked and stored in a horizontal posture, and the cards are pulled out in the horizontal direction to perform processing such as image formation.

On the other hand, Patent Document 2 discloses a device in which a plurality of cards are arranged and stored in a front-and-rear direction and are fed out from the front row of cards into the device. This document discloses a device in which a box-shaped cassette is mounted at the bottom of the device and the front row card is fed out by a pickup roller.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-186495 (FIG. 1) Japanese Patent No. 3625206 (FIG. 1)

  As described above, in a device that stores a plurality of cards and records them one by one, the plurality of cards are stored vertically in a stacked manner. For this reason, there is a problem that the storage amount of the card is limited. This is because, for example, cards that are stacked and stored in a horizontal posture are drawn out in the horizontal direction to record information such as image formation and magnetic storage, resulting in dead space in the device and increasing the size. Is relatively low.

  On the other hand, it is important to manage various certification cards (such as ID cards) or commercial cards (such as credit cards). For example, when the device is not in use, unused cards (blank cards) are removed from the device and stored. Need to be accommodated. This is because the storage of the logo or the like as the proof card or the storage of the magnetic or IC information as the commerce card is made strict.

  When such a plurality of cards are attached to and detached from the apparatus every time they are used, it is necessary to consider that the cards are not scattered during the removal and attachment at the same time as storing a large-capacity card. Therefore, in Patent Document 2, it is proposed to increase the capacity by storing a plurality of cards in a standing state (standing position). However, the card cassette of the same document is stored in a storage box in a vertical posture in the front-rear direction, and the cards in the last row are urged in the operation direction by the support member.

  Accordingly, the conventional card storing in the standing posture has a problem that the card falls as shown in FIG. 7 (or the card falls to the left side in the figure) when the support member is pulled away from the card when the card is replenished or replaced. Arise. This card overturn causes the same problem when a front side jam card is removed when the card is jammed in the paper supply unit.

  Therefore, the present inventor has come up with the idea that the card is stored in the storage cassette in a state of being tilted forward by a predetermined angle. Then, this angle is set to an angle that does not easily fall over from the installation angle of a desk or table that is normally used. As a result, when the user replenishes the card or removes the jam card, even if the support member is pulled away from the card, the card does not fall down and the operation is facilitated.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide an information recording apparatus capable of storing a large capacity card when a plurality of cards are stored in a paper feed unit, and also capable of replenishing a card and removing a defective card. It is said.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an information recording unit for recording information on a card in a device housing, and a detachable card cassette for supplying the card to the information recording unit. Card storage section that stores the cards in a standing position and arranged in the front-and-rear direction, a card placement surface for placing the cards in the standing position in a standing position, and a card lock that engages with the cards in the front row A surface is provided, and an inclined surface for locking the card in a forward inclined posture is formed on the card locking surface. Then, the back surface of the card in the last row is urged by the support member so that the cards in the front row are engaged with the card locking surface in a forward inclined posture. And , in the card accommodating portion, a card placement surface for placing the card in a standing posture, and a card engagement surface having an inclined surface for engaging the front row of cards in a forward inclination posture are provided, The card mounting surface is configured with an inclined surface that gradually decreases toward a card operation direction or a stepped surface that decreases stepwise with respect to a card cassette support surface of the device housing. It was configured to be detachably attached to the card feed direction substantially the same direction as supplied to the apparatus housing side from the card cassette is characterized in that.

A device housing, an information recording unit for recording information on the card, a card cassette for supplying the card to the information recording unit, a pickup roller for feeding out the card from the card cassette, and a card stored in the card cassette are separated one by one. Separating means.
The card cassette includes a cassette housing, a card storage unit that is provided in the cassette housing and stores a plurality of cards in a standing posture and arranged in the front-rear direction, and the front row of cards faces the information recording unit. It comprises a paper feed opening for feeding, a support member for supporting the rear face of the last row of cards, and a biasing means for biasing this in the card ejection direction.
The card accommodation portion is provided with a card placement surface for placing the card in a standing posture and a card locking surface for engaging with the frontmost card, and the card placement surface has a steering direction. The card is provided with a height difference for tilting the card forward, and the card locking surface is provided with an inclined surface for locking the card in a forward tilting posture.

  The cassette housing is provided with a picker opening for engaging the pickup means on the front surface of the card in the card storage section, and the card locking surface, the picker opening, and the paper feed opening are in this order in the card feeding direction. To place.

  In the present invention, the card storage unit is configured to store a plurality of cards in a standing posture and aligned in the front-rear direction, and the card is inclined forward on a card locking surface that engages with the card in the front row. Since the inclined surface to be locked is provided, the following effects are obtained.

  According to the present invention, the card storage unit is configured to store a plurality of cards in a standing posture and aligned in the front-rear direction, and configured to supply the front row of cards into the information recording apparatus from the paper feed opening. Therefore, it is possible to store a large-capacity card as compared with the case where a conventional card is stacked and stored vertically in a horizontal posture and recorded by a recording unit arranged in the horizontal direction.

  At the same time, an inclined surface that locks the card in a forward tilted posture is provided on the card locking surface that engages with the card in the front row, so that the card stored in the card storage portion is supported by the storage portion in a forward tilted posture. Will be. For this reason, when the card is replenished or when the card in the front row is jammed, the stored card is less likely to fall down and become confused, which is easy.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Explanatory drawing which shows one Embodiment of the information recording device concerning this invention. The perspective view which shows the whole structure of the card cassette in the apparatus of FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the card cassette of FIG. 2, (a) shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view, (b) is an enlarged view of a card | curd mounting surface, (c) is a case where a card | curd mounting surface is comprised by the inclined surface. Indicates. FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the apparatus of FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a top view of the apparatus of FIG. 2. Explanatory drawing which shows the control structure of the information recording device of FIG. Explanatory drawing of the conventional card cassette. The figure which showed the state which removed the card cassette from the apparatus.

  The present invention will be described in detail below based on the preferred embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the overall configuration of an information recording apparatus 1 according to the present invention. The apparatus shown in FIG. 1 records information on an ID card for various certifications, a credit card for commercial transactions, and the like. For this purpose, the apparatus housing 2 is provided with an information recording part A and a card supply part C. The information recording unit A is composed of a magnetic recording unit A1, an IC recording unit A2, and an image information recording unit A3. The information recording unit A is composed of various recording units, for example, a bar code recording unit, depending on the apparatus specifications.

  The card supply unit C includes a cassette that stores a plurality of cards. For example, this cassette is configured by providing a hopper-shaped cassette in the apparatus housing 2 or a card cassette 3 separated from the apparatus housing.

FIG. 8 shows a state where the card cassette 3 is removed from the apparatus housing 2. For example, in the conventional configuration in which the card cassette is pulled out in a direction perpendicular to the card supply direction, the card cassette cannot be pulled out when a card jam occurs in the card supply unit, and it is difficult to remove the jam. However, in the present embodiment, the card cassette 3 is configured to be detachable in the upward direction (substantially the same direction as the card supply direction described later) by pulling up the card cassette 3 with a handle (not shown). It is possible to remove the jam by removing the card cassette 3.
Although the card supply direction is inclined in this embodiment, the card cassette 3 does not have to be attached / detached in any direction, and may be configured to be pulled upward with respect to the apparatus housing 2.

[Card supply section]
The configuration of the card supply unit C in the apparatus of FIG. 1 will be described. In the apparatus of FIG. 1, the card supply unit C is constituted by a card cassette 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the card cassette 3 includes a box-shaped cassette casing 3a (hereinafter referred to as “casing”) and a card accommodating portion 4 provided in the casing. The card storage unit 4 is configured by a storage space that conforms to a card size that allows a plurality of cards to be aligned and stored in a standing posture. An opening 4a for inserting / removing a card is provided in the upper part of the card storage 4 and an opening / closing cover (opening / closing lid) 3b for opening / closing the opening is hinged.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the card storage unit 4 is configured in a space shape for storing cards in a standing position by arranging the cards from one end (left end in the drawing) to the other end (right end) in the front-rear direction. In this space, a card placement surface 5 for placing the cards in a standing position and a card locking surface 6 for locking the cards in the front row are provided.

  The card placement surface 5 and the card locking surface 6 hold the card in a forward tilt posture. For this reason, the card mounting surface 5 is constituted by an inclined surface 5a having a height difference Δd in the operation direction (arrow X direction) or a step surface 5b. The card locking surface 6 is formed by an inclined surface 6a that locks the card in a forward tilting posture. In other words, the feeding direction is a direction toward the card locking surface 6 in the card stacking direction.

  As in this embodiment, the card mounting surface is composed of a plurality of stepped surfaces that are lowered stepwise in the operation direction, so that the lower end edge of the card placed in a standing posture is locked by the stepped portion. It will not fall in the forward leaning direction. As a result, when the card cassette 3 is removed and the card is replenished, the card does not fall down, so that the replenishment work is facilitated.

  FIG. 3A is a configuration diagram of the card accommodating portion 4, FIG. 3B shows a case where the card placement surface 5 is configured with a stepped surface 5 b, and FIG. 3C shows a case where the card mounting surface 5 is configured with an inclined surface 5 a. In each case, a height difference Δd that decreases in the operation direction X is formed, and the inclined surface 6a of the card locking surface 6 is formed at an angle θ that matches the height difference Δd.

  Although not shown, the card locking surface 6 is not necessarily configured as a flat surface, and may be configured as a protrusion that locks the front surface of the card in a forward tilted posture. In this case, a difference in height is provided between the protrusion that contacts the upper side of the card and the protrusion that contacts the lower side of the card.

  The card storage portion 4 is provided with a paper feed opening 7 at the leading end in the operation direction. The paper feed opening 7 is configured as an opening through which the front row of cards can be carried out of the housing. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the card is formed in a slit shape so that the cards in the foremost row locked to the card locking surface 6 in a forward inclined posture are carried out from the bottom of the housing 3a. The sheet feeding opening 7 has a slit thickness (d) and a width (e) that match the card thickness as shown in FIG. 4, and is formed to have a slit thickness (d) through which only the front row card can pass. Has been. The paper feed opening 7 constitutes a separating means for separating the cards one by one when the card is fed out by a pickup roller 19 described later.

  In the apparatus shown in the figure, at the same time as the card is separated by the paper feed opening 7, as shown in FIG. 4, separation pads 8a and 8b and an idle roller 9 are opposed to each other at both ends of the card (or one central portion). . The separation pad 8a (8b) is formed of an elastic member having a high friction coefficient such as rubber, and separates the card from the idle roller 9. That is, two or more cards that have passed the slit thickness (d) are separated by the friction pads 8a and 8b. At the same time, the slit thickness (d) can be adjusted according to the thickness of the card to be stored. When the card cassette 3 is removed from the apparatus, the separation pads 8a and 8b hold the card so that the card does not jump out of the paper feed opening 7.

  In the illustrated adjusting mechanism, as shown in FIG. 4, the slit thickness (d) is formed by the eccentric cam 10, and the cam surface 10a is formed so that the illustrated thickness slit (d) can be gradually changed. The rotation angle is set at 10b.

  The card storage unit 4 is provided with a picker opening 11 for engaging a pickup means 19 described later on the front surface of the card. The picker opening 11 is formed as an opening for engaging a pickup roller 19 (to be described later) with the front row card in order to feed out the front row card from the paper feed opening 7. The picker opening 11 is disposed between the card locking surface 6 and the paper feeding opening 7 described above, and the card locking surface 6, the picker opening 11, the paper feeding along the card feeding direction Y (shown by the arrow in FIG. 3). The openings 7 are arranged in this order.

  In this way, by arranging the picker opening 11 and the paper feed opening 7 with respect to the card locking surface 6 that supports the card in a forward inclined posture, a triangular space Ar as shown in FIG. 3 is formed. By arranging a later-described pickup roller 19 in this space, the space of the apparatus can be saved.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the card storage unit 4 is provided with a support member 12 that supports the rear surface of the last row of cards stored in the card storage unit 4. The support member 12 is configured by a member that presses and supports the back surface of the card such as a plate member or a block member, and feeds the cards that are aligned and accommodated in the standing posture in the operation direction X. In the illustrated apparatus, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the support member 12 is supported by a guide groove 13 formed in the inner wall of the housing 3a so as to be slidable in the operation direction X. An operation knob 14 is integrally formed on the support member 12, and the support member 12 can be moved between an operating position for supporting the card and a retracted position retracted by operating the knob.

The support member 12 is provided with urging means 15 for urging the support member 12 in the card ejection direction. The illustrated biasing means 15 is constituted by a spring, and one end 15 a of the spring is fixed to the housing 3 a and the other end 15 b is fixed to the support member 12. 15P in the figure is a pulley that supports the spring in a U-turn shape. The urging means 15 is disposed on the side surface of the housing 3a as shown in FIG.
A taper surface 12x is provided on the support member 12 so as to create a gap between the support member 12 and the card. Therefore, when a small number of cards are replenished, it can be replenished by inserting the card into the tapered surface while the support member 12 is pressing the card, and there is no need to move the support member 12 with the operation knob 14. .

  The operation knob 14 is hinged to the support member 12 so as to be swingable, and the member of the device is locked in the latch groove 16 shown in FIG. The support member 12 is held in the retracted position by engaging with the latch groove 16. The operation knob 14 locked in the latch groove 16 is in a broken line state in FIG. 2 to prevent the opening / closing cover 3b from being closed. As a result, when the support member 12 is locked at the retracted position, the opening / closing cover 3b is prevented from being closed, and the opening / closing cover 3b can be closed only when the support member 12 is in the operating state.

3 is a pickup roller, and 9 is a separation roller (idle roller) that forms a separation gap. 22 is a carry-in roller, which conveys the card fed out from the paper feed opening 7 to the downstream side. Rc shown in the figure is a cleaning roller pressed against the carry-in roller 22 and removes dust adhering to the carry-in roller 22.
The carry-in roller 22 is made sticky, and the cleaning roller Rc is made more sticky so that the carry-in roller 22 removes dust from the card, and the cleaning roller Rc further removes dust from the carry-in roller 22. You may make it do.
A reversing unit F is disposed on the downstream side of the card cassette 3, and the reversing unit is configured to be able to turn a card sent from the card cassette 3 in a predetermined angle direction.

[Configuration of information recording section]
The configuration of the information recording unit A will be described with reference to FIG. A card (recording medium; the same applies hereinafter) sent from the card cassette 3 is sent from the carry-in roller 22 to the reversing unit F. The reversing unit F is composed of a unit frame supported by a device frame (not shown) so as to be pivotable and a pair or a plurality of roller pairs supported by the frame.

  In the illustrated example, two roller pairs 20 and 21 arranged at a distance from each other at a distance are axially supported on a unit frame so as to be rotatable. The unit frame is swiveled in a predetermined angle direction by a swivel motor (pulse motor or the like), and a roller pair attached to the unit frame is configured to rotate in a forward / reverse direction by a transport motor. Although this drive mechanism is not shown in the figure, for example, a single pulse motor is configured to switch the turning motion of the unit frame and the rotation of the roller pair by a clutch.

  Accordingly, the cards prepared in the card cassette 3 are fed out by the pickup roller 19, separated one by one by the separation gap formed by the eccentric cam 10 and the separation roller 9, and sent to the reverse unit F on the downstream side. The reversing unit F carries the card into the unit with the roller pairs 20 and 21 and deflects its posture in a predetermined angle direction while being nipped by the roller pair.

  A magnetic recording unit 24, a non-contact type IC recording unit 23, a contact type IC recording unit 27, and a reject stacker 25 are disposed on the outer periphery of the reversing unit F in the turning direction. Incidentally, 28 shown in the figure is a bar code reader, which is a unit for reading a bar code printed by, for example, an image forming unit B, which will be described later, and determining correctness (error determination). Hereinafter, these recording units are referred to as data recording units.

  Therefore, when the card whose posture is deflected in the predetermined angle direction by the reversing unit F is transferred to the recording unit by the roller pairs 20 and 21, data can be magnetically or electrically input onto the card. Further, when a recording error occurs in these data input units, they are carried out to the reject stacker 25.

  An image forming unit B is provided on the downstream side of the reversing unit F, and a carry-in path P1 for transferring a card from the card cassette 3 is provided in the image forming unit B. The reversing unit F is disposed in the path P1. ing. In addition, conveyance rollers (or belts) 29 and 30 for conveying the card are arranged in the carry-in path P1, and are connected to a conveyance motor (not shown). The transport rollers 29 and 30 are configured to be able to switch between forward and reverse rotations, so that the card is transported from the image forming unit B to the reversing unit F at the same time as the card is transported from the reversing unit F to the image forming unit B.

  On the downstream side of the image forming unit B, a carry-out path P2 for transferring the card to the storage stacker 60 is provided. Conveying rollers (or belts) 37 and 38 for conveying cards are arranged in the carry-out path P2, and are connected to a conveying motor (not shown).

  A decurling roller 36 is disposed between the conveying roller 37 and the conveying roller 38, and the curl is corrected by pressing the central portion of the card held between the conveying rollers 37 and 38. For this reason, the decal roller 36 is configured to be movable in the vertical direction in FIG.

"Image forming part"
The image forming unit B forms an image such as a face photograph or character data on the front and back surfaces of the card. The illustrated apparatus shows a case where an image is formed with a sublimation ink ribbon.

  In the image forming part B, a thermal head 40 and an ink ribbon 41 are arranged. The ink ribbon 41 is accommodated in a cartridge 42, and an operation roll 43 and a take-up roll 44 are accommodated in the cartridge 42, and a wind motor Mr 1 (not shown) is connected to the take-up roll 44.

  A thermal head 40 is disposed at a position facing the platen roller 45. A head control IC 74x (see FIG. 6) is connected to the thermal head 40 so that the thermal head 40 is thermally controlled. The head control IC 74x heats the thermal head 40 according to the image data to form an image of the ink ribbon 41 on the transfer film 46 described later. Therefore, the take-up roll 44 rotates in synchronization with the thermal control of the thermal head 40, and the ink ribbon 41 is taken up at a predetermined speed. Reference numeral f1 denotes a cooling fan for cooling the thermal head 40.

  The transfer film 46 is wound around a take-up roll 47 and a feed roll 48, and the transfer film 46 is wound around the platen roller 31 and the heat roller 33 so as to transfer the transfer image. 49 is a transfer roller for the transfer film 46, and pinch rollers 32a and 32b are arranged on the peripheral surface thereof. The transfer roller 49 is connected to a drive motor (not shown). Then, the transfer film 46 moves counterclockwise in FIG. 1 at the same speed as the ink ribbon 41.

  Further, the heat roller 33 is provided with an elevating mechanism (not shown) so as to be pressed against and separated from the platen roller 31 disposed in the carry-in path P <b> 1 via the transfer film 46. The heat roller 33 is composed of a heating roller, and the image on the transfer film 46 is transferred to the card surface by heating means arranged inside. In the figure, Se11 is a position detection sensor of the ink ribbon 41, and Se13 is a presence / absence detection sensor of the transfer film 46. Note that the image forming unit B is provided with a fan f2 for releasing heat generated in the apparatus.

"Container"
As shown in FIG. 1, the accommodating portion I is configured to accommodate the card sent from the image forming portion B in the accommodating stacker 60. The storage stacker 60 is configured to detect the uppermost card by a lifting mechanism 61 and a level sensor (not shown) and to move downward by the lifting mechanism 61 in FIG.

[Control configuration]
FIG. 6 illustrates a control configuration according to the present invention. The control unit H is constituted by, for example, a control CPU 70, and the CPU 70 is provided with a ROM 71 and a RAM 72. The control CPU 70 includes a data input control unit 73, an image formation control unit 74, and a card transport control unit 75.
Then, the card conveyance control unit 75 transmits a command signal to a drive circuit of a drive motor (not shown) so as to control card conveyance means (a conveyance roller pair shown in FIG. 1) arranged in the carry-in path P1 and the carry-out path P2. The card conveyance control unit 75 transmits a command signal to the drive circuit of the turning motor of the reversing unit F.

  The card transport control unit 75 is electrically connected to each sensor so as to receive the status signals of the sensors Se1 to Se10. At the same time, it is connected so as to receive a job signal from the data input control unit 73.

  The data input control unit 73 transmits a command signal for controlling transmission / reception of input data to the data R / W IC 73x built in the magnetic recording unit A1, and similarly for the data R / W of the IC recording unit A2. The IC 73y is configured to transmit a command signal. The image formation control unit 74 controls image formation on the front and back surfaces of the card in the image forming unit B.

  The RAM 72 stores a processing time for inputting data on the card by the data input unit (magnetic / IC recording unit), for example, in a data table.

  The card transport control unit 75 is provided with monitoring means and determination means, both of which are incorporated in the control program of the control CPU 70. The monitoring means is configured to receive the status signal of each sensor and the job signal of the data input control unit 73 and monitor the transport status of the card existing in the apparatus.

3 Card cassette 3a Cassette housing (housing)
3b Open / close cover 4 Card storage portion 5 Card placement surface 5a Inclined surface 5b Step surface 6 Card locking surface 7 Paper feed opening (separating means)
8a separation pad 8b separation pad 9 separation roller (idle roller)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Eccentric cam 12 Support member 12x Tapered surface 14 Operation knob 15 Biasing means (spring)
16 Latch groove 19 Pickup roller (supply means)
23 Non-contact IC recording unit 24 Magnetic recording unit 27 Contact IC recording unit 31 Platen roller 33 Heat roller 40 Thermal head 41 Ink ribbon 46 Transfer film 70 Control CPU
A Information recording part P1 Carry-in path P2 Carry-out path Δd Height difference X Card feeding direction Y Card feeding direction d Slit thickness

Claims (7)

A device for recording information on a card,
A device housing;
An information recording unit provided in the device housing for recording information on a card;
A card cassette that is detachably attached to the apparatus housing and supplies a card to the information recording unit;
A pick-up roller disposed in the device housing and delivering a card from the card cassette;
Separating means for separating the cards stored in the card cassette one by one;
With
The card cassette is
A cassette housing;
Provided inside the cassette housing, and a card storage portion for storing and aligning the plurality of card back and forth Feeding direction in a standing posture,
A paper feed opening for feeding the cards in the front row accommodated in the card accommodating portion toward the information recording portion;
A support member for supporting the back of the last row of cards accommodated in the card accommodating portion;
An urging means for urging the support member in the direction of the card;
Consisting of
The card accommodating portion is provided with a card placement surface for placing the card in a standing posture, and a card engagement surface having an inclined surface for engaging the front row of cards in a forward inclination posture ,
The card mounting surface is composed of an inclined surface that gradually decreases toward the card operation direction or a step surface that decreases stepwise relative to the card cassette support surface of the device housing,
The card cassette is configured to be detachable in substantially the same direction as a card supply direction for supplying a card from the card cassette to the apparatus housing side.
An information recording apparatus characterized by that.   The cassette housing is provided with a picker opening for engaging the pickup means on the front surface of the card in the card storage part, and the card locking surface, the picker opening, and the paper feed opening are in this order. The information recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information recording apparatus is arranged in a feeding direction.   The apparatus housing is provided with a cassette mounting opening for mounting the card cassette, and the cassette mounting opening is configured to be mounted and removed in substantially the same direction as the card unloading direction of the card cassette. The information recording apparatus according to claim 1.   The information recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the card placement surface has a height difference that causes the card to tilt forward in the operation direction.   The information recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the card placement surface is configured by an inclined surface that gradually decreases in the operation direction or a step surface that decreases stepwise in the operation direction.   The information recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the separation unit includes a separation gap that separates cards provided in the card cassette. The information recording unit is arranged in a card conveyance path arranged in a horizontal direction in the device housing,
The card cassette is disposed above the information recording unit,
The information recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a reversing unit that deflects a card fed out in an upright posture inclined from the card accommodation portion is provided in the card transport path.

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